A396 Cove opens under 24-hour traffic control
The A396 Cove road, between Tiverton and West Somerset, opened to all day traffic light control today (April 8) at 3.30pm, a day earlier than originally planned.
Originally the road was due to be closed on Saturday April 9 between 9.30pm and 3.30pm.
This means that the road will be open under 24-hour traffic control from this afternoon (April 8) until May 3, which will include Bank Holiday Monday.
Finally, for the final phase of the work from May 3 to May 14, the road will revert to traffic light control during peak times and overnight only, from 3.30pm to 9.30am the following morning.
Again, outside these times, the road will be closed.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways said: “Thanks to the good weather over the Easter Break the road will be open to all-day traffic control 24-hours earlier than originally planned.
“The contractor has now installed much of the kerbing and the road will be opened under traffic signals at 3.30pm today, no closures will be required over the weekend.
“Piling works are now complete and the concrete footings and vehicle restraint barriers have been installed. The majority of the works over May will be the continued construction of the wall. The contractor continues to work weekends and two gangs of stone masons are working on site.
“The final two weeks of off peak closures are planned to commence after the first May bank holiday when the kerbing works will be completed and the road resurfaced.”
A wall is being constructed along some sections of this road because the old safety barrier no longer met national standards and changes to the stability of the bank meant that a like-for-like replacement was not appropriate. Extra support to the edge of the road, in the form of retaining walls, was needed.
Safety barriers need space to deflect vehicles in the event of an accident and in some places that space is not available. Where this is the case, parapet walls have been built instead, using local stone and in a style consistent with other masonry walls in the area. The wall fully complies with planning requirements.
